In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London

Frank Dobson’s Sculpture In Whitechapel

January 13, 2017

by the gentle author

Woman & Fish by Frank Dobson in situ

Frank Dobson Sq in Whitechapel, where Cambridge Heath Rd meets Cephas St, was constructed in 1963 and named after the Clerkenwell-born sculptor whose ‘Woman & Fish’ formed the handsome centrepiece of the Cleveland Estate. Dobson’s sculpture of two figures entitled ‘London Pride’ situated outside the National Theatre serves a similar function on the South Bank.

Yet in 2002, Dobson’s sculpture was removed from its plinth in Whitechapel following a series of vandalisations which damaged it beyond repair, leaving a gaping hole in the streetscape to this day. In 2006, Tower Hamlets Council commissioned Antonio Lopez Reche to make a bronze replica, cast at a foundry in Limehouse, which was installed in Millwall Park on the Isle of Dogs in 2007.

The original installation of Frank Dobson’s sculpture at the Cleveland Estate celebrated the work of a major British sculptor in the year of his death and embodied a progressive belief in the importance of high quality public art as a means to improve the urban environment. Now residents of Whitechapel have raised a petition to return ‘Woman & Fish’ to the empty plinth in Frank Dobson Sq with improved lighting and security cameras to ensure its safety, restoring a cherished East End landmark to its rightful place.

I remember that statue so well from my childhood. It used to be surrounded by water and one day, myself, younger sister and a friend decided to go swimming there during the summer holidays. We wrapped our swimming costumes in towels, as we used to do when we went to the swimming baths, but when we got there we ‘chickened out’ when our friend’s swimsuit blew away as she was unwrapping it. Nevertheless we decided to carry on, and paddled instead with our dresses tucked into our knickers. I was surprised we didn’t get told off, but it was all so innocent. Probably about 1964-5.

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